"I don't have any problem with it," Skip Holtz, the new USF football coach, said when asked about possibly renewing the annual series with UCF. "I don't have anything to do with the schedule, but I wouldn't be afraid of it. … It will be interesting to see how it all unfolds. I think it would be good for everybody involved."

Holtz made this comment during a cordial, impromptu conversation with media members in the press room before Sunday's Daytona 500. If you're scoring at home, that would be one more cordial, impromptu conversation with media members than former USF coach Jim Leavitt ever had.

Trying to compare Holtz and Leavitt is like trying to compare Auntie Em with Cruella de Vil or Flounder from The Little Mermaid to the shark from Jaws. It's like the difference between Mom's homecooking and prison food.

Jim Leavitt was fired for punching players.

Skip Holtz prefers hugging them.

Holtz, if you couldn't tell, is my new favorite college football coach in the state. Why? Because he makes my job easy, that's why. He's friendly and fun. He's accessible and approachable.

Now that Bobby Bowden has retired, Holtz immediately becomes the most likable, media-friendly college football coach in the state. And he hasn't even been through spring practice yet.

Urban Meyer is certainly the best coach in the state, but he's about as embraceable as a bronze statue. UCF's George O'Leary actually has a wry sense of humor, but his public persona is that of a gruff, tough old-school taskmaster. Miami's Randy Shannon is distant and disconnected and has about as much PR savvy as a potted plant. Florida State's Jimbo Fisher — a k a Little Nick Saban — seems like a nice enough guy, but he is already turning Bowden's famously friendly program into a gulag with his decision to publicly muzzle his assistant coaches.

That leaves Holtz, who is the ultimate breath a fresh air at a USF program that was passing gas under Leavitt. Even before Leavitt was fired for grabbing one of his players by the throat and slapping him in the face, his arrogance and insolence had begun to turn fans and media against him.

Holtz realizes that you can't just be a great coach at a school like USF; you also have to be a great ambassador, too. Just ask Bowden, who put FSU's program on the map by winning — and grinning.

Holtz, of course, knows the benefits of good public relations better than most. His father Lou was a darn good football coach, but his charisma and self-deprecating humor turned him into a beloved football coach.

Once, when Lou was coaching in college, he opened up his TV show the day after a big loss with this line: "Welcome to the Lou Holtz Show. Unfortunately, I'm Lou Holtz."

Much like Lou, Skip Holtz gets it. Unlike so many obsessive coaches today who are trying to lock down and limit access to their programs, Holtz is opening up and increasing access to his. He's making his players more available for interviews. He's making his assistant coaches available to the media. He knows in a state dominated by the Gators and in a city inundated with professional sports, he can't just sequester himself in a dark office and break down special-teams tape.

"It's not just about coaching football," Holtz says. "It's not just locking yourself away, grabbing the chalk and scheming X's and O's, blocking isos and 4-3 defenses. You've got to get out and intermingle with the public and your fan base.

"From a media and exposure standpoint, to have the opportunity to go around the state and stand on any soapbox you can stand on to talk about your goals and dreams and visions for where we're trying to go — that's part of the job of a head football coach."

Here's hoping Skip Holtz wins and wins big at USF.

With Bobby Bowden now gone, this state could use a coach with a little more personality and a lot less paranoia.

Read Mike Bianchi's blog at Orlando Sentinel.com/openmike and listen to his radio show every weekday from 9-11 a.m. at 1080 AM. You can email him at mbianchi@orlandosentinel.com.